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“This hou kui’s leaves are even longer than Teavivre’s (for some reason the pic both here on Steepster and on the vendor website is wrong; it’s a duplicate photo of one of their...”
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“This was a interesting tea session for me, for I was comparing with another version that a friend just recently gave me. I’ve enclosed pics of the taste off. The one of the left is...”
Read full tasting note

“I only got a sample size of this and wanted it to last so didn’t put enough in the teapot. My tea is now too weak to leave a proper review. Only posting this here so I don’t make the...”
Read full tasting note

From Tao Tea Leaf

This is a fantastically sweet and floral green tea that has recently been gaining popularity in the word of Chinese tea. This tea has won a slew of awards including the ‘King of Tea’ award in 2004 at the China tea exhibition.

Our Tai Ping Hou Kai is strong and floral with fruity scents, subtle hints of apricot. The liquor is thick but very light. It tastes subtly sweet with a grassy aftertaste.

Region: Houkeng Village, Anhui Province, China

Other Names: Monkey Tea, Taiping Best Monkey Tea

Steeping Guide:
Teaware: Glass or ceramic Gaiwan
Amount: 3g /1½ teaspoons
Temperature: 80°c (176°F)
Steeping Time: 1 to 2 minutes for the first two steeps and 3 to 5 minutes for the third and fourth.

*These steeping directions are for a traditional Gong Fu style tea, if you are brewing this tea in a regular cup we recommend steeping for 2 – 3 minutes. This tea can also be steeped 4 times.

3 Tasting Notes

This hou kui’s leaves are even longer than Teavivre’s (for some reason the pic both here on Steepster and on the vendor website is wrong; it’s a duplicate photo of one of their other green teas), so long and straight and flat they came in their own special packaging and much like dried spaghetti wouldn’t fit in the tea pot until hot water softened it! Awesome. The way HKs look just tickles me.

This is silky smooth, buttery with a wonderful balance between savory satisfaction and gentle sweetness. The texture is really the star here; I love it. So far so good with hou kuis!

Preparation

This was a interesting tea session for me, for I was comparing with another version that a friend just recently gave me. I’ve enclosed pics of the taste off. The one of the left is Tao’s the other is from an anonymous chinese company.

Tao’s Tai Ping:

The leaves are massive! They are a vibrant green and smell of fresh flora. I brewed these beauties in my glassware to watch them dance. I did not follow the brewing guidelines because I disagreed with them. The aroma these gave off was wonderful! It was as if spring was in full swing as soon as my simmering water touched these long fingers. The liquor was an iridescent jade and tasted so sweet! The initial sip had a slight vegetal tone with dandelion nectar in the background. This brew was very subtle but had an amazing flavor! I was able to get four steepings out of this pot full. The fourth steeping was not bitter only the flavors had become nullified and all that remained was a slight astringency. This is definitely a treat that I would only break out for special occasions.

Chinese Company Tai Ping:

I really don’t have much to say about this one. The leaves were very small and a mudded green. I brewed these in my gaiwan for they were small enough to fit. These leaves were very lacking in aroma and the liquor was discolored. This brew was a slight aquamarine color, but mostly clear. The flavor was incredibly light and almost non-existent. This carried the slight taste of cardboard. I assume this tea just might be outdated or possible stored improperly. I was not able to finish it at my third steep and threw it out. I could feel a headache coming on.

This was a great experience and I was very happy to be able to sample two very different versions of the same tea. I hope that I will be acquiring more of Tao’s along the way!

*the brewing instructions for the tasting note were the ones I used with Tao’s

Preparation

I only got a sample size of this and wanted it to last so didn’t put enough in the teapot. My tea is now too weak to leave a proper review. Only posting this here so I don’t make the same mistake for next time. It’s hard to measure by spoon since the leaves are so big. Better to go by weight.